The First World War and its influence on the development of orthopaedic surgery.

By December 1914, overwhelming numbers of soldiers with infected musculoskeletal wounds had filled hospitals in France and Britain. Frequently initial management had been inadequate. In 1915, patients with orthopaedic wounds were segregated for the first time when Robert Jones established an experimental orthopaedic unit in Alder Hey Hospital, Liverpool. In 1916 he opened the first of 17 orthopaedic centres in Britain to surgically treat and rehabilitate patients. Henry Gray from Aberdeen emerged as the leading authority in the management of acute musculoskeletal wounds in casualty clearing stations in France and Flanders. Gray had particular expertise in dealing with compound fractures of the femur for which he documented an 80% mortality rate in 1914-15.

The impact of a managed clinical network on referral patterns of sarcoma patients in Grampian.

In 2004, the Scottish Sarcoma Managed Clinical Network (SSMCN) was established with the aim of optimising the management of patients diagnosed with sarcoma in Scotland. Clinical, radiological, oncological and pathological details of all bone and soft tissue sarcomas presenting in Scotland are registered and cases discussed in a weekly multi-centre, tele-link multidisciplinary team (MDT) forum. Sarcoma surgery and pathology assessment is undertaken in three specialist centres, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow with oncological services provided within these units as well as in Dundee and Inverness. The aim of this study was to establish any difference in referral patterns, time to specialist review, preoperative magnetic resonance imaging scanning and whether complete margins were achieved on formal resection before and after establishment of the Scottish Sarcoma Network. A database was established of all patients presenting with sarcomas of the trunk or extremity in Grampian between 1991 and 2009. Notes for 158 patients were available for review. Seventy-nine (50%) patients presented prior to the establishment of the Scottish Sarcoma Network. Cohort analysis reveals that the establishment of the SSMCN has had a positive impact on the management of sarcoma. The number of patients undergoing formal resection by the specialist surgical team has significantly increased while the waiting time from referral to assessment by the sarcoma service has decreased.

The long-term functional and radiological outcome after open reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament.

We identified a series of 128 patients who had unilateral open reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) by a single surgeon between 1993 and 2000. In all, 79 patients were reviewed clinically and radiologically eight to 15 years after surgery. Assessment included measurement of the Lysholm and Tegner scores, the ACL quality-of-life score and the Short Form-12 score, as well as the International Knee Documentation Committee clinical assessment, measurement of laxity by the KT-1000 arthrometer, a single-leg hop test and standardised radiography of both knees using the uninjured knee as a control. Of the injured knees, 46 (57%) had definite radiological evidence of osteoarthritis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade 2 or 3), with a mean difference between the injured and non-injured knees of 1.2 grades. The median ACL quality-of-life score was 80 (interquartile range (IQR) 60 to 90), the Lysholm score 84 (IQR 74 to 95), the Short Form-12 physical component score 54 (IQR 49 to 56) and the mean Hop Index 0.94 (0.52 to 1.52). In total 58 patients were graded as normal, 20 as nearly normal and one as abnormal on the KT-1000 assessment and pivot-shift testing. Taking the worst-case scenario of assuming all non-attenders (n = 48), two septic failures and one identified unstable knee found at review to be failures, the failure rate was 40%. Only two of the patients reviewed stated that they would not have similar surgery again. Open reconstruction of the ACL gives good, durable functional results, but with a high rate of radiologically evident osteoarthritis.

The strange case of Sir Henry Gray.

Sir Henry Williamson Gray was a prominent Aberdeen surgeon who took up the post of Chief of Surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal in 1923. In what subsequently became known as "The Sir Henry Williamson Gray Affair" in the annals of McGill University, his career was ruined and his reputation left in tatters. The authors examine the available evidence and conclude that Gray was treated unfairly. They hope they have helped restore his name and reputation.

Quasi-synchronous patellar tendon rupture.

The case of a 66-year-old male who suffered from rupture of both patellar tendons within a few minutes of each other is reported. The patient was not suffering from any underlying medical problems, and made an uneventful recovery following surgical repair.

Thrombocytopenia absent radius syndrome and knee deformity.

We report a case of thrombocytopenia absent radius (TAR) syndrome with varus and flexion deformity and limited movement of the knee. Soft tissue release achieved only partial correction of the deformity and tended to convert a stiff knee to an unstable knee. Flexion deformity required correction by lower femoral extension osteotomy.

A long-term review of children with congenital and acquired upper limb deficiency.

A long-term review of 131 children fitted with upper limb prostheses at the Ontario Crippled Children's Centre between 1965 and 1975 is reported. There were 116 children with congenital deficiencies and 15 who had had amputations. Follow-up ranged from 7 to 17 years. A total of 42 children had abandoned their prostheses, 37 of whom had congenital deformities and five were amputees. The level of deficiency was of fundamental importance in determining whether the prosthesis would be accepted; in the forearm, the longer the stump, the more likely it was that the child would discard the prosthesis. Overall, 50 per cent of children fitted over the age of two years abandoned their prostheses compared with only 22 per cent of patients who had been fitted before the age of two years. The highest drop-out rate was at the age of 13 years when the children became more conscious of their cosmetic appearance. Suggestions for reducing the high drop-out rate in the early teens are put forward.

Rupture of the Achilles tendon treated by a simple operative procedure.

A subcutaneous suture technique for repair of closed rupture of the Achilles tendon first reported in 1977 is described again. The use of the technique in Aberdeen is compared with cases treated in plaster during the same 2-year-period. Although the total in the series is only 35, the results appear to indicate that the subcutaneous suture technique improves the power of plantar flexion without significant post-operative complications.

The use of cast-bracing as treatment for fractures of the tibial plateau.

A series of 29 patients with fractures of the tibial plateau were treated by means of a cast-brace. There were seven wedge fractures of the lateral tibial condyle, two dicondylar fractures and 20 compression fractures involving the lateral tibial plateau. The seven patients with wedge fractures were treated by skin or skeletal traction, followed as soon as possible by flexion exercises for the knee. Cast-braces were applied to all fractures as soon as possible after injury, and the patients allowed to bear weight freely. Early restoration of function of the injured limb was thereby achieved. The results of our study over a period of two and a half years indicate that cast-bracing is a very satisfactory method of treating fractures of the tibial plateau. All the fractures united, the movements and control of the knee were excellent, and valgus or varus deformity was unchanged before application and after removal of the brace.